Razoo For Schools Goes High Tech

That’s the word from parents and others who say Parent Teacher Associations—commonly known as PTAs—and other nonprofit organizations are learning to make better use of technology in order to raise money.

For example, there’s a platform that provides charitable giving solutions based on what it calls “a new era in philanthropy.”

Considered by many to be a leading example of a fundraising method known as crowdfunding, Razoo helps nonprofits leverage secure and efficient technologies to raise money and engage in charitable giving activities. Crowdfunding involves collecting small donations from many parties in order to raise the money needed for a particular project or venture.

Razoo has expanded its online platform to allow people to give directly to other people for nearly any cause. Its site now empowers everyday philanthropists to show they care through generosity and peer-to-peer sharing for personal fundraisers.

Options for PTAs

Razoo can help transform any PTA fundraising initiative into a fun, interactive experience. It provides expert tips and resources that eliminate the massive time investment for busy parents while increasing the participation and results through crowdfunding.

Across the country, PTAs are using the platform’s resources in a number of ways. For instance, some organizations are using its website to launch customized fundraising pages for special projects or events.

For example, one PTA mom, Diane Kelleher, uses Razoo to help her daughter’s elementary school, Sligo Creek Elementary in Silver Spring, Md., raise money for its annual fundraiser, the Salamander Stride. She said Razoo “enables us to get more energy and more dynamism to reach out to a larger number of supporters.”

Other schools are turning to Razoo for assistance in setting up the mechanism that would let them accept donations on their own site or on their organization’s Facebook page.

Another way PTAs are using the website is as a tool to help them organize their core supporters to raise money for specific projects.

A Simplified Process

Using the website to set up a fundraiser only takes a few minutes. The site offers examples of different approaches and provides visitors with the tools they need to customize a page that tells their PTA’s unique story using images, words and videos provided by the PTA.

The platform also shows PTAs how to use e-mail and social media—such as Facebook and Twitter—to share news of their fundraising efforts with friends, family and community. Experience has shown that keeping supporters updated and showing them the difference each donation makes can help to build support for the overall campaign.

To cover its costs, Razoo charges 4.9 percent on every donation it collects. It automatically e-mails each donor a tax-deductible receipt so the nonprofit doesn’t have to. The platform also has programs for assisting individuals, corporations and other organizations.